Alabama Republican Party

The Alabama Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party of the United States. The party was organized after the end of the American Civil War, with its first state convention occurring from 4 to 5 June 1867 in Montgomery, Alabama. The Republican Party was founded upon the ideals of classical liberalism, as it supported the emancipation of African-Americans, increased rights for former slaves, and the punishment of former Confederates. In 1868, the state legislature consisted of 97 Republicans and just 3 Democratic Party members, an obvious effect of Reconstruction on the state; however, the Democrats won the legislature back in 1970, winning 57 seats to the Republicans' 38 (19 of which were African-Americans). After the end of Reconstruction in 1877, the Alabama Democratic Party became the predominant party in the state, and the Republicans went into decline; from 1901 to 1964, all of Alabama's senators were Democrats. However, State Party Chairman John Grenier helped to revitalize the party by organizing eight congressional victories, and "the Goldwater Landslide" of 1964 saw Republicans win dozens of local offices. In 1980, Jeremiah Denton became the first popularly-elected Republican senator from Alabama in US history; the previous ones had been appointed by the federal government. Guy Hunt's 1986 victory in the gubernatorial election made Alabama a two-party state, shattering the Democrats' hold on the state. Jimmy Carter was the last Democrat to carry Alabama, doing so in 1976, with the state becoming solidly Republican as most conservative white Southern Democrats defected to the Republicans. In 2010, 136 years of Democratic control of the state legislature was shattered when the Republicans took over the majority. In June 2017, the party held 26/35 State Senate seats and 72/105 State House seats.